viverrine

or vi·ver·rid

[ vahy-ver-ahyn, -in, vi- ]

adjective
  1. of or relating to the Viverridae, a family of small carnivorous mammals including the civets, genets, palm cats, etc.

noun
  1. a viverrine animal.

Origin of viverrine

1
1790–1800; <New Latin viverrīnus, equivalent to Viverr(a) a genus name (Latin vīverra the ferret or a similar animal; akin to Lithuanian voverė̃,Old Russian věveritsa,Old English ācwern,Old High German eihhurno squirrel) + -īnus-ine1

Words Nearby viverrine

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How to use viverrine in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for viverrine

viverrine

/ (vaɪˈvɛraɪn) /


adjective
  1. of, relating to, or belonging to the Viverridae, a family of small to medium-sized predatory mammals of Eurasia and Africa, including genets, civets and mongooses: order Carnivora (carnivores)

noun
  1. any animal belonging to the family Viverridae

Origin of viverrine

1
C19: from New Latin viverrīnus, from Latin viverra a ferret

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Scientific definitions for viverrine

viverrine

[ vī-vĕrĭn, -īn′ ]


  1. Characteristic of or resembling civets or their kin.

The American Heritage® Science Dictionary Copyright © 2011. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.